Hvar, Croatia

Hvar, hedonist’s paradise, an island created seemingly entirely as a playground for rich tourists and their materialistic desires. I was instantly amazed and slightly disgusted at the clientele this place drew, the bigger the yacht and higher the heels the better! As a girl who craves countryside and interaction with locals, we found it remarkably difficult to convey to our hostel owner that we weren’t interested in beach bar hopping the following day, she was very confused! All the same, I am glad we went, it was a fabulously interesting experience and we made the most of it.

Our first day was spent gawking. Seriously, this place has too much money, and the things that it was being spent on blew our minds. We opted to hire a car the following day, the cheapest option of which was a brilliant 20+ year old convertible Fiat, and headed into the country! BEST decision. Those who go to Hvar and don’t experience the island other than the party town are truly missing out; hidden bays enveloped with dense pine forests, olive groves interspersed with wild grape vines and lavender bushes, gasp worthy views from cliff-side drives and mesmerizingly abandoned villages; left to crumble when the owners realized the money was in coast based tourism and not traditional agriculture. Humac was a village left off the tourist maps but absolutely magical, once a thriving village atop a mountain with views to die for there were now only a couple of houses inhabited for tourism purposes (and a restaurant only open a few days a week, we couldn’t find which days anywhere unfortunately) and we were free to explore the historic and ghostly streets as if on the set of a movie. Surreal.

I would go to Hvar again but probably not the party town… the rest of the island is a wild place worth exploring, with many villas for rent in the midst of the lavender fields (best seen whilst blooming in June), historic sights that are left for the visitor to interpret (I still can’t find any information on the endless piles and rows of rocks) and impossibly high cliffs that rise from the steep stone terraces beckoning rock climbers whilst the turbos party on the shores below.

6am on the last day as we caught our ferry out there were still people out; spilling out of the closing nightclubs and diving into the sea. This island is a haven for show offs and adventurists alike, and definitely worth a look.